Final Rookie Report Cards: The Running Backs (Part One)

Throughout the season, the Rookie Report Card has covered some of the biggest rookies and not only looked at their performance to date – but also their long term upside. Now that the regular season has wrapped up and fantasy owners are looking towards the future, we have an opportunity to take one last look at the 2014 season and assess the rookies. A final report card if you will.

We covered 33 rookies throughout the season, including 11 running backs. Like last week with quarterbacks, we’ll take one last look at those runners’ first shot handling the rock on Sundays – as well as a quick glimpse into their futures.

Alfred Blue, RB HOU
Season Stats: 169 carries, 528 yards (3.1 YPC), two touchdowns, 15 receptions, 113 yards, one touchdown

In the Rookie Report Card published in week 11, I completed my thoughts on Blue by saying, “Blue lacks the explosion and overall speed to become anything more than a secondary ball carrier and possible short yardage and goal line runner. Because of that, his fantasy upside is severely limited. I’d be surprised if he develops into anything more than a RB4 for your dynasty team beyond this year.”

In a nutshell, I still feel the same way. He’s a smooth runner with good long speed and the ability to break a few tackles but lacks explosion off the snap to become an effective every down tailback. His 3.1 yards per carry average paled in comparison to the 4.8 average that Arian Foster tallied behind the same offensive line. I wouldn’t be surprised if Blue lost his backup job in 2015.

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Isaiah Crowell, RB CLE
Season Stats: 148 carries, 607 yards (4.1 YPC), eight touchdowns, nine receptions, 87 yards

Of all the tailbacks in the 2014 NFL draft, Crowell was my favorite. Now that the season is over, he’s still among my favorites at the position.

During his first year in Cleveland, Crowell proved to be the best runner on the roster. His incredible field vision combined with his impressive burst and powerful running style were all reminiscent of what he did against inferior competition at Alabama State and the ankle breaking moves he displayed in the open field (particularly against the Falcons in week 12) were eye popping.

When I wrote about him in the Rookie Report Card in week 12 I said that, “Crowell has all the traits of a tailback that a team can build an offense around – at least on first and second down. He’s got better burst than (Terrence) West, is more explosive at the second level and is a more accomplished goal line runner. He should become the Browns’ primary running back sooner rather than later and should continue to put up RB2 numbers in standard leagues for years to come with the potential to become a low end RB1 if he gets 18 to 20 touches per game.”

The Browns’ usage of their running backs down the stretch of the 2014 season was head scratching so there’s certainly no guarantee that Crowell will go into 2015 as the lead back and get enough touches to reach the expectations I have of him. I firmly believe however, that his talent is far too great for the Cleveland coaching staff to ignore and Crowell is in line for a breakout sophomore season behind the Browns’ offensive line that should be at full health once again next year. He’s an excellent trade target this offseason and because of his modest numbers as a rookie, could be acquired relatively cheap.

Davonta Freeman, RB ATL
Season Stats: 65 carries, 248 yards (3.8 YPC), one touchdown, 30 receptions, 225 yards, one touchdown

For the most part, it was a disappointing season for Freeman. Despite having only Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers in front of him on the depth chart and the Falcons in desperate need of a playmaker in the backfield, he played on less than 22% of the team’s snaps. In his limited opportunities he showed he could be an asset as a pass catcher and has the ability to slide around tacklers in the open field, but he wasn’t effective enough between the tackles to get regular carries due to his inability to break tackles.   Counted on mostly as a third-down back, it was obvious throughout the season that the coaching staff in Atlanta didn’t see him as a fulltime runner.

Now that it looks like Jackson and Rodgers will both be moving on in the offseason and with a new coaching staff in town, there’s always a chance that Freeman will get more touches going forward. But I’d be surprised if the Falcons don’t bring in a veteran runner or a high draft pick to get a majority of the carries in 2015. Dynasty owners should see him as nothing more than a fifth or sixth running back as we enter the offseason.

Jeremy Hill, RB CIN
Season Stats: 222 carries, 1,124 yards (5.1 YPC) nine touchdowns, 27 receptions, 215 yards

I was wrong about Hill.

Coming out of college I saw him as a between the tackles runner that wasn’t very physical and lacked the vision and quickness to become a lead runner in the NFL. Then he posted a dawdling 4.66 second 40 time and 29 inch vertical at the combine and I was convinced he was nothing more than a part-time tailback.

After Hill ran for 74 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in week two, I wrote that I still had, “trepidation when considering his potential in the long haul as a featured runner” in the Rookie Report Card. I’ll say it again. I was wrong about Hill.

Hill proved to be a dynamic player as a rookie. While completely obliterating my view of him being soft between the tackles, he also displayed excellent burst at the line of scrimmage and impressive quickness at the second level of the defense.

Everything you need to know about Hill could be seen over the final three weeks of the regular season when he carried the Bengals and fantasy teams. He went for 395 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 70 carries (5.6 YPC) over that span including an impressive 85-yard jaunt to the house against the Broncos in week 16 that was one of the best runs of the year.

Overall, Hill looks like a different running back from the one I saw at LSU. He’s runs hard and displayed nimble feet. He has RB1 upside as long as he continues to get the lion’s share of the carries in Cincinnati which should be the case. Hopefully you didn’t make the same mistake as I did by ignoring him in rookie drafts.

Carlos Hyde, RB SF
Season Stats: 83 carries, 333 yards (4.0 YPC), 12 receptions, 68 yards

I didn’t get a chance to write about Hyde in the Rookie Report Card during his rookie season, mostly due to veteran Frank Gore still having a stranglehold on the lead job in San Francisco. That all may change next year however.

Hyde was the type of runner in college that got better as the game went on. He wore on defenses with his physicality and often needed a handful of carries to get in the flow of the game before starting to pop off big runs. Never getting more than 11 carries in a game as a rookie with the 49ers, he never got that opportunity.

Although he got limited chances as a rookie, Hyde looked the part of a lead runner in 2014. He showed explosiveness at the line of scrimmage and power at the point of attack. He should get the chance as a sophomore to handle the ball 15-times per game and with those carries, he’ll impress. Because of that, he’s a great trade target this offseason and should be looked at as a RB2 in 2015 with the upside to be among the ten best at the position.

We’ll be back a look at the rest of the running backs later this week!

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Dan Meylor

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Dan is a jack of all trades but master of none and specializes in salary cap and contract leagues.He has far too many hobbies (including writing the article you just read), is a die-hard Packers fan and can't wait to introduce his young sons to fantasy football.

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